Pros: This kit is the only 275 GTB/2 Short Nose model
ever made in 1/24 scale by any manufacturer - quite unique subject. Body
proportions are good, decent interior detail, good photoetch, unique wheels,
simple construction, mostly good parts fit. Since I was restoring a kit that
was already built, its hard to figure out the initial quality of the parts!

Cons:.
Resin quality is not up to modern standards - lots of bubbles and flaws in
the cast, but other than that a good quality overall. Tires are no-name
vinyl skinnies, white metal parts are not clean, chrome plating is flawed in
places. Glass parts didn't fit right. No decals, no headlight surrounds
provided in the kit. Almost non-existent chassis detail, curbside.

Verdict: Since it was a restoration of a built kit that
was produced in a very limited quantities, I don't know whether I should
even make a recommendation - I have no idea about the kit's quality when it
was new, and the chances of finding one in mint condition are almost equal
to zero. its a very unique model, and I'm glad I could add it to my
collection. It was rather simple build,
but completed model looks great and represents a very important car in
Ferrari history.

Buildup

It all started when I saw this wreck on eBay! It
was built from a rare EX Models kit, and the car itself was 275 GTB/2 Short
Nose not dome by any other manufacturer. Unbuilt kits are rarer than hens
teeth, so I jumped on this opportunity and purchased the kit.

Now it was dashboard's turn. Since I have shaved
everything I had to made all the instruments, knobs, radio, steering column,
stalks, etc, etc from scratch. Different size plastic and metal tubing,
wire, adhesive wood simulation film, sheet styrene, some photoetch - all
went to build the new dash.

Couple of weeks later the kit has arrived from
France. It was in various stages of disrepair. Luckily for me, all important
parts were there. I decide to do a full restoration - adding and improving
several things in the process. Everything was disassembled and stripped in
brake fluid.

The result was worth it and new dashboard looks
a lot better than original one, with crisp detail and no awful bubbles and
flaws.

The body was...in bad shape. Not so much the
actual casting, but resin quality showed its age (1989). Lots of small
bubbles and imperfections in resin. I started with carefully drilling out
and filling all flaws, again, and again...

Here is another picture with the steering wheel
(topped off with Hiro adhesive Cavallino button) and photoetched kit pedals.
I waited till the dash was glued in to attach these so I could align them
right.

After several filling/sanding sessions it was
more or less smooth and straight. I have also corrected some missing trim
details, vents, and minor things like that.

I used Model Factory Hiro adhesive red (its
actually red with black specks) cloth to make floor mats, and MHF black
leather to make heel pads for the mats. I also made passenger footrest from
a piece of brass wire and slipped some black wire insulation on it to
simulate rubber cover.

As you can see, underside was all plagued with
little bubbles and holes that had to be filled and sanded. I decided not to
bother with all of them and filled only the ones that could be seen on
completed model.

Interior was ready to be assembled.

From the beginning I was planning on using
aftermarket tires, since kit tires were too skinny and with time, vinyl
hardened and cracked. The tires I found were a bit bigger and fatter, and I
enlarged rear wheel wells with my Dremel so wheels could fit.

Instead of spending hours on detailing mediocre
chassis, I just used Testors metalizer paints to paint and drybrush engine
and transaxle and exhausts/mufflers.

After several more hours of block sanding,
filling and fixing little detail the body was ready, cleaned, washed, dried,
and sprayed with Tamiya gray sandable fine primer straight from the can. The
body was once again looking great!

Finally, I have installed the seats, door
panels, steering wheel, pedals, and dashboard. Dashboard fit was tricky, and
it kept interfering with the windshield, but I have figured it out after
several tries.

While primer was drying on the body, I started
fixing interior/chassis part. It was in bad shape! The casting itself was a
lot worse than the body, with lots of bubbles and flaws in resin casting.
Most were drilled out and filled, some just filled and sanded, but the was
no end in sight!

Another pictures of completed interior.

Chassis "side" was no better. The detail is very
mediocre at best, but I decided to preserve it because of the rarity of the
kit, and just fix whatever was there. More putty and sanding!

When all work on interior and chassis was
completed, it was time to go back to the body. By that time clear coat has
completely cured, so I have polished it with Tamiya polishing compounds and
waxes with Last Detail's Treatment model wax.

Again, after hours of filling and sanding, I
sprayed a test coat of gray primer. Still lots of small holes and other
imperfections. Back to work.

After the paint was rubbed out and waxed, I
started adding little details to the body - side window trim, headlights,
and other pieces that were already assembled by the previous builder (I
didn't disassemble the good ones). I have also did panel lines with
semi-gloss dark blue wash.

More filling and sanding.... This time, I think
i got most of it, and the chassis finally started to look more or less
decent.

Front and rear window's trim was masked off and
sprayed with Tamiya semi-gloss black, and then carefully highlighted with
BMF. the goal was to leave a little bit of black trim so it would look like
rubber insulation under chrome trim.

Meanwhile I was deciding on the color for the
car. I really liked red ones, but I found a picture of stunning Azzurro
Metallic short nose car, and decided to paint mine that same color. Body was
primed white.

It turned out quite good, although not
completely perfect in places. Overall, I was very satisfied with the result
and I think I will use this technique on future models.

Then my paint guy at local body shop mixed the
paint using paint catalogues. I sprayed several light coats, but it looked
slightly different from the paint on the pictures... I decided that I still
liked it and proceeded to clear coat the paint.

White metal rims in this kit are quite unique -
a Star Campagnolo alloys. I have not seen these rims in any other kit. They
were pretty beat, and required a lot of straightening and filling/sanding to
look good. After restoration, they were sprayed with metal primer followed
by Tamiya gray primer.

After several coats of clear, paint started to
sparkle real nice! I decided to add one more wet coat to make sure I have
enough protection for polishing.

Stock tires were pretty bad by modern standards,
so I have replaced them by period correct Michelins from my parts box. I
don't even know where they come from, but they were better by leaps and
bounds than stock tires.

While paint was drying I turned my attention to
the rest of resin parts - interior. As you can see from the picture - they
were in really poor condition. Door panels were warped, seats and dash
pitted with small bubbles.

Here is a picture showing two different tires -
not only new tires fit the rims better, but they are wider and look more at
home on the car.

After looking at the dashboard I decided that
none of the detail there should be saved. I shaved it completely clean and
decided to make everything from scratch. See the pitting - that is how deep
the bubbles were - even after taking off about 1mm of resin they were still
visible!

Finally, rims were painted with Testors Aluminum
metalizer, and fitted with valve stems made from thin wire and wheel weights
made from gray plastic tree. Centers were detailed with BMF and kit-supplied
knock-offs. Completed wheels were lightly sprayed with clear to protect
aluminum finish.

After straightening door panels, hours of
filling and sanding of the seats and dashboard, I have finally sprayed some
gray primer on the parts. They were looking good enough to proceed with the
paint.

Inside surface of the body shell was painted
flat black, windows installed (had to make rear window from scratch). I also
fabricated roof headliner from medical tape, and trim from Model Factory
Hiro adhesive black leather.

Meanwhile, I filled last imperfections in the
chassis/interior, and sprayed few last coats of gray primer.

Then I started to add bits and pieces to the
body. Photoetched grille was assembled together and glued into previously
BMF'ed grille opening. Black wash was applied to bring out the depth. I also
fitted front bumperettes and rear bumper.

Both sides looked a lot better now. There were
still some small imperfections on the chassis, but I decided that black
paint will cover that.

Sun visors were made from sheet styrene and
wrapped in medical tape. I also made the arms that attach them to the roof
from thin steel wire and glued in kit-supplied rearview mirror.

And I was right - most flaws just disappeared
after painting chassis black. Chassis was looking significantly better.

Kit tail lights had "chrome" surround, but they
were made out of clear epoxy, and it was all jagged and looked bad. I cut it
off, and replaced it with slightly bigger photoetched circle which served
both as a reflective base and chrome surround! I also sanded off front
blinkers to use as a base for clear parts.

I sprayed interior with the mixture of Tamiya
flat red and gloss red, with few drops of flat black and flat blue over gray
primer - which resulted in this deep maroon-ish color.

Rear end was put together, taillights painted
with Tamiya's clear red and orange, trunk handle glued in, and then topped
off with Crazy Modeler Ferrari badge and license plate.

Door panels and seats were sprayed with the same
mix, and after the paint cured, I masked one seat to see If two-tone scheme
would work - it looked great!

The biggest challenge presented itself in the
form of headlight surrounds - they were simply absent from the kit. I
decided to make them from thin sheet styrene, but had to fashion a special
cutting tool to ensure that the width of the surround is the same all
around.

I carefully masked door panels and sprayed them
satin black. Masks were removed before paint has completely dried to smooth
the edges - seems to work very well every time.

Surround shape was traced to a piece of paper,
then to plastic, and then carefully cut with my new cutting tool -
double blade knife! Then I refined the surrounds and glued them to the
headlights with superglue.

Seats were masked, painted and detailed with lap
belts made from thin ribbon and Acu-STion photoetched hardware.

Then surrounds were carefully covered with Bare
Metal Foil, which I burnished real well. Then I carefully cut the foil from
both sides using fresh #11 blade. Repeated on the other surround.

Door panels were also detailed with some
photoetched panels that came with the kit, and scratch built cranks and door
handles - I have shaved the original cranks and handles off - they
were not very good. (Cranks and handles are not painted on this picture)

And to my surprise it turned out quite well!
Surrounds were looking very close to the real car. I also added Ferrari
emblem from MFH set, and clear blinkers from Gunze GTO kit.

I have purchased some very nice dark red
flocking and Model Factory Hiro adhesive cloth material from Hiroboy.com.
their flocking is one of the best I have used recently - very high quality
stuff. Hiro adhesive cloth sheets are also top notch.

Rear end received exhaust tips and Crazy Modeler
metal transfer Cavallino emblem on the trunk lid.

Interior floor was flocked using my flocking
method, and luggage straps from real leather were added to the interior. I
have also made little buckles for the straps from thin wire.

I also attached Crazy Modeler's Cavallino on the
front grille, and replaced kit wiper blades with photoetched variety.
Finally, front license plate was attached to the lower body.

Everything was assembled together, cleaned,
waxed, dusted, aligned, and completed model photographed. Restoration
complete! This was my first, but I would definitely do another one if I ever
come around some poor Ferrari in need of a restoration!